She Barely Knew your Name
by divergentandproudofit
Summary: "He thinks I'm strong, not just that weak little Stiff who can't fight. He doesn't think of me as just another initiate." Tris is drawn to Four, but he isn't what she thinks. doesn't necessarily follow the book. Please R&R!
1. Attack

**'Kay, so this is just a ****songfic (Curse by Imagine Dragons) about Tris and Four. This could possibly be a one shot, but if you want more let me know.**

* * *

**Tris POV**

"Outranked by a Stiff? I mean, c'mon. Really?"

As I listen to Peter rant, I creep farther and farther into the shadows, silently willing Peter to keep walking, to not see me. It works. He and his buddies continue down the hallway, oblivious to the silent Stiff in the shadows.

Because that's what I really am.

I'm not Dauntless enough to challenge him, and I really wish that he'd just forget about the whole thing so that nobody gets hurt. But it can't always be that way. Especially in Dauntless.

I walk to the dining hall and silently sit down with Christina, Al, Will, and Uriah.

"Tris, Uriah, where have you _been_ all day? I was looking all over for you two." Christina's tone is annoyed.

Damn. I had hoped that she wouldn't notice.

Uriah answers for me, and I'm grateful. I don't feel like talking at the moment.

"We were just chillin'."

As I listen to them talk, I scan the room, looking for Peter.

Four catches my eye, and we stare at each other for a moment.

It feels like we are both trying to say something that the other can't hear.

I look away. I need to focus on surviving initiation. I cannot be distracted by him.

Why am I distracted by him?

"Look at Four," Will says in a low voice. "He's staring at _our_ table."

We all look over at him. But it isn't us he's staring at, I realize.

It's me.

"Four scares the hell out of me," Christina says. "He's so still, and that quiet voice he uses... I wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley. "

I laugh. "He's... definitely intimidating."

But Four chased me up a Ferris wheel, brought me back to the dorms after my first simulation, gave me tips on fighting. And even though he threw knives at my head, I'm not afraid of him.

I was never afraid of him.

Exactly the opposite.

I excuse myself and head for the hallway I sat in when Edward got stabbed in the eye.

I need to think.

It's too bad Uriah finds me.

"Hey, wanna come with me? I'm shooting a muffin off Marlene's head."

I laugh. "Seriously? Why?"

"She bet me I couldn't shoot well enough to hit a small object from 100 feet. I bet her she wouldn't have the guts to stand there as I tried."

I decide to go.

Lynn and Marlene wait for us in the Training Room, but just as Uriah takes aim, Four, Zeke, and Shauna burst through the door.

"Thought I heard something in here," Zeke says. "Turns out it's my idiot brother. You're not supposed to be in here after hours. Careful, or Four will tell Eric, and you'll be as good as scalped."

"You wouldn't tell Eric," Lynn says, glaring at Four.

"That's right. I wouldn't." He looks at me when he speaks.

When I walk by, he gently puts his hand on my back to usher me out. I feel as if I am made of electricity. I hope he can't tell.

How does he do this to me?

The others are gone when we reach the hallway.

We are alone.

Four scratches the back of his neck and says, "Tris, just hold on. You belong here with m- with us."

Was he about to say 'with me' ?

"Four, I... it's just so hard, and I think Peter's after me..."

He shakes his head. "You're one of the strongest people I know. You'll make it."

I feel warm and fuzzy everywhere. I reach out and grab his hand. He laces his fingers with mine.

I can't breathe.

* * *

I get back to the dorms before anyone else,but I don't want to talk and pretend to be asleep when Christina and the rest come in, talking and laughing.

Four.

He thinks I'm strong, that I'm not that weak little Stiff who can't win a fight.

He doesn't think of me as just another initiate.

For the first time, I allow myself to admit it.

He is more than just an instructor.

I think... I might be falling for him. Falling hard.

I need him. I want him. I miss him, although he's not even gone.

But of course, I'm only seen as a little sister he needs to protect.

I can't sleep, so I get up for a drink of water. And that, I think, is my undoing.

They come up from behind, catching me by surprise. My screams do me no good. One covers my mouth with his hand, and I bite down hard.

"Ow!" It's... Al?

What is going on here?

A heavy hand gropes my chest, and I scream again.

"You sure you're sixteen, Stiff? Doesn't feel like you're much more than twelve." Peter.

I squeeze my eyes shut.

"Wait, I think I found something!"

I scream again and claw at Peter.

"Not so fast, Stiff. I was planning on having a bit of fun."

I twist out of Al's grasp , but Peter knocks me down again.

"How do you do it, Stiff? Huh? How the bloody hell do you do it?"

I

Can't

Think.

I feel the cold kiss of steel on my throat, and I realize that Peter has a knife. I am most likely going to die soon.

I hope that it's quick.

And just as suddenly as it starts, it ends. I hear shouts and flesh hitting flesh, and the knife is knocked out of Peter's hand. It skids across the Pit floor into the Chasm.

Finally the noises stop and all I can hear is the roar of the Chasm.

I focus on the only face I see, his dark blue eyes filled with anger.

"Four," I croak.

He shakes his head. "Don't call me that. My name is Tobias Eaton."

**so what do you think? Post a review or PM me to let me know!**


	2. Aftermath

**:D :D :D I am sooooooooooooo happy about all the reviews and follows and favorites! I woke up and checked my email and my inbox was filled with Fanfiction stuff... anyway here is the next chapter...**

**Oh by the way sorry about any typos that may come up, I type this on my kindle fire.**

* * *

**Tobias POV**

I am coming back from the fear landscape room when the scream rips through the night.

A girl's scream.

I run, quickly, occasionally slipping on the damp, uneven stone floor. My only thought is of getting to her. What if it's an initiate? What if it's...

_Tris._

Almost as soon as I think her name, I come within view of the Pit floor and see her, held in place by two boys, trying unsuccessfully to escape.

_It's just so hard... and I think Peter's after me..._

Her words from the Training Room slip back to haunt me.

I can't let her die.

She means too much to me. She is the only thing that keeps me here.

So I run.

"I'm coming, Tris," I whisper.

I just hope I'm not too late.

* * *

**Tris POV**

I wake to the sound of running water and the words 'fear God alone' spray painted on a plain white wall. Four- no, _Tobias-_ sits in a chair in the corner. He looks at me when I raise my head.

Everything hurts. My head, my ribs, the cut on my throat, everything.

"Are you okay?" Tobias asks me.

I shake my head and wince because even that slight movement sends sharp spikes of pain shooting through me.

"Easy there. Wouldn't want to start your cut bleeding all over again." He gets up and walks over to the side of the bed I'm lying on.

Somewhere a memory surfaces: dark blue eyes and ink curling around the side of his neck and a gentle sway that can only mean he carried me here.

I have been staring at Tobias for too long.

"What?" he asks.

"Nothing."

I feel like saying, _doing_ something impulsive.

"Tobias, back in the Training Room, when you said that I'm one of the strongest people you know...I think maybe you were wrong about me. Because I'm not strong. I couldn't even fight off Peter and Al."

He shakes his head. "No. Don't let yourself believe that. It's not true."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're strong in a different way. You let me throw knives at you to protect Al. You are still selfless, and to me, that's the same thing as being brave or strong."

That's when I remember. He was Abnegation, too. My father's friend Marcus had a son who transferred to Dauntless- and his name was Tobias.

That gentle heat in his eyes has a whole new meaning now.

To my surprise, he rests his hand on the side of my face. His hand is warm and his fingers are careful.

I look up at him and he looks down at me. We stay that way for a moment, each of us trying to figure out something to say.

It seems impossible that he could feel something for me, given all that I'm not. But...

I feel like my heart is going to beat right out of my chest. I can't even think. All I can focus on is his hand on my cheek, his skin touching mine...

I am melting, disintegrating into a million tiny pieces.

"Tris, I..."

I'm not even sure how it happens. But suddenly, he's kissing me. Or I'm kissing him. I'm not sure which. Does it even matter?

I know I am not the first to break away.

When we finally do separate, Tobias looks at me and says softly, "I had to do that. At least once."

* * *

I don't go back to the dorms that night. Sleeping in the same room as those who just tried to kill me would be idiotic.

Tobias sleeps on the floor and I sleep on his bed, on top of his quilt.

I watch the muscles in his back expand and contract, thinking about the kiss, until I fall asleep.

**Review please! Peter is still running loose...**


	3. Promise

**Disclaimer: If I owned the rights to Divergent, my last name would be Roth. My last name is not Roth.**

**Tris POV**

when I wake, Tobias is nowhere to be seen. I get out of bed, wincing as my sore ribs protest.

What if Tobias thinks kissing me was a mistake? We kissed more than once last night, when emotions were running so high, but now... what does he see in me? I'm not pretty, or tall...

There is a mirror at the other end of the room. I cautiously walk over to it, standing on tiptoe to look at my face.

But the girl in the mirror can't possibly be me. This girl has a bruised cheek, a black eye, and a long cut on her throat. We share the same narrow face, blue eyes, and blonde hair, but that is where the resemblance stops.

Did Peter really beat me up that badly?

The bathroom door opens and Tobias walks in, a towel slung over his shoulder and his hair dripping shower water.

"Hey, Tris."

I turn around and smile, remembering last night's kisses. "Hey."

His hand gently brushes the purple and green bruising on my cheek.

"Not bad. Now remember, when you walk into the dining hall, let the bruise show, and keep your head down. You can't get attacked again."

I look at the floor. "Tobias, I'm not sure I can do that."

"Hey. Look at me."

I turn to look at him.

"It's okay. Just pretend to be the weak little Stiff girl that you could never be, let the bruise show, and you'll be fine. I promise."

"Alright," I say, because there's no possible way I can refuse him.

"You ready?" he asks me, his hand brushing mine.

I don't want to leave. I want to stay here with him, but I nod. "Ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

"Ohmygod, Tris. What happened to you?"

I slump down in my chair. "Peter and Al happened to me."

They gasp, staring at me in shock.

Finally Will says, "Damn. Al's been acting a bit off but I never expected him to attack you."

Christina nods in agreement. "Actually, we all thought he liked you."

I blush." Oh."

Actually, Al did like me. As more than a friend. But he tried to kill me, and I chose Tobias.

"Are you okay, though? I mean, since they attacked you?"

I shake my head.

And that's when Peter walks in.

My jaw drops open.

He has a split lip, a broken arm, and his face is more black and blue than flesh toned.

Just what he deserves.

I look over at Tobias, and he raises an eyebrow. I almost laugh, but I catch myself. If everyone finds out that Tobias and I are close, they might call my high ranking a result of favoritism rather than skill.

"Did _you_ do that?" asks Christina incredulously.

I shake my head. "No. Someone found me right before-"

Saying it makes it real. Makes it true.

"- right before Peter would've slit my throat."

* * *

"Initiates. We're doing something different today. Please follow me." Tobias' eyes catch mine on the word ' initiates '.

We do follow him, all the way up the paths on the side of the Pit into the glass building, down a hallway, and into a large cement room with exposed pipes and spray painted walls.

"This is a different type of simulation called the fear landscape. It's been disabled for our purposes, but next week, to complete your initiation process, you will go through your fear landscape as quickly as possible in front of the entire faction."

I watch him as he paces the floor, strong and steady. Unstoppable.

I wish I could be like that, because one of the many things I've learned since joining the Dauntless is that you can't trust anyone to protect you, not even the people closest to you.

You have to fend for yourself.

Tobias finishes his lecture on the fear landscape, and then dismisses us and heads for the door. But as he brushes past me, he slips a piece of paper into my hand.

**I had to write this chapter like three times just to get it right, and I'm still not sure if I like it. I need feedback and ideas, so please review!**


	4. Tryst

**warning: long A/N rant at the end**

* * *

**Tris POV**

_Meet me here at 11 tonight. Don't tell anyone where you're going._

- _Tobias_

I read the note over and over again until the ink runs and the paper crumples, tracing tracing Tobias' signature with my fingertip.

Ever since this morning, Christina has been acting a little suspicious. I guess it's because I'm happier than I should be, what with my bruises and all. I can't seem to wipe the smile off my face though.

Back in the Training Room, I think he was about to say that I belonged here, with him.

And I do.

"So..." Christina says, walking in to the dorms. Here we go again. I shove the note in my pocket.

"You said someone saved you from Peter and Al. Who was it ?"

I blush. She sits down on my bed, next to me.

"Could it have been a _guy,_ by any chance?"

I turn redder than I already was. "It was T- I mean, Four."

"Oh. _Oh._ You have a crush on him, don't you?"

Damn. Why did she have to be from Candor of all places?

"No. Are you kidding me? He threw _knives_ at my _head._ Why would I have a crush on him?"

"Okay, okay," she laughs, holding her hands up in defeat. "It just seemed likely. Where were you last night anyway? I mean, after the attack."

I can't tell her the truth. If she knew I was with Tobias...

"I was at the infirmary," I say as smoothly as I can.

"Oh." Christina looks disappointed. Well too bad for her. I'm not going to admit it.

* * *

At exactly 10:45 P.M., I head for the fear landscape room, tucking Tobias' note carefully under my pillow. I slip out into the hallway, glancing back to make sure I'm not being followed.

I'm not going to let Tobias down.

When I arrive in the glass building, I see him standing in the middle of the floor, looking up at two ropes stretched across the room, one a little higher than the other. I wonder what crazy Dauntless stunts they're used for.

"Hey, Tris," he says, walking over to me. His voice echoes through the vastness of the glass room. I run to him, slipping and falling on the slick glass.

He catches me before I hit the ground, holding on to me just a tiny bit longer than necessary.

I wrap my arms around him and he presses his lips to my forehead.

For a moment I wish he wasn't an instructor and I wasn't an initiate, so that we would be free to just be us, to show the world that I am his and he is mine.

Eventually we break apart and head for the fear landscape room, hand in hand.

In a box lie two needles full of simulation serum.

We're going into his fear landscape.

"You would let me see this?"

"Why else do you think I'm going in? I have some things I want to show you."

* * *

When we come out of it, he's sweating and I can still see the fear in his eyes.

Only four fears. It's incredible. Impossible.

He breathes hard and fast, no doubt trying to dispel the memories of his father that are here in such strength.

"Hey. We got through it." I pull him close, wishing I wasn't still built like a twelve year-old.

"You got me through it." He presses his forehead to mine. I smile.

"Well, it's easy to be brave when they're not my fears."

He tips his head in and touches his lips to my own.

"Aha! I knew it!" Christina shouts triumphantly.

* * *

**A/N rant:**

**To whoever asked me why I'm not at band camp:**

**1. Who are you and how do you know me? And how do you know I was supposed to be at band camp? (Sorry that sounded a lot harsher than I thought it would. No offense meant. But you gave me a heart attack.)**

**2. I'm not at band camp because I am still on vacation. I was so mad when my parents told me I wasn't going to be there and I miss my band mates.**

**To everyone else:**

**Thanks for the amazing reviews, they make me so happy (my parents are thinking of feeding me less sugar because I start bouncing off the walls) keep it up. Luv you all!**

**And that ends my rant.**


	5. Confessions

**Alright, since I just saw a rainbow and it's still pouring rain here and I can't go swimming, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

**Tris POV**

We hastily break apart, but it's too late. She saw it all.

"So, when were you going to tell me about your new boyfriend?"

We both turn even redder than we already are.

"First of all, how did you find out?" I ask her, somewhat harshly.

She shrugs. "I heard you get up, then I found this -" she waves Tobias' note in the air and I wince - "under your pillow. So when the coast was clear I followed you. And walked in on you and Four kissing. So when _were_ you planning to tell me?"

I sigh. I'm not getting out of this one. "After initiation. I just didn't want you to think that I was first because he likes me."

She rolls her eyes. "Are you crazy, girl? I'm happy for you. I just wish you had told me earlier."

Tobias wraps an arm around me protectively. "We've only been together since last night, after I saved her from Peter and Al."

"And it's impossible to find somewhere to talk. This place is crazy during the day."

"Ah, so you weren't at the infirmary last night." She smiles knowingly, and I blush.

Luckily she's still calling him Four. I read that note so many times the signature is smudged and he and I are the only ones who could tell it said Tobias.

"Just don't tell anyone, okay? At least not until initiation is over." The last thing I need right now is Peter on my case again.

"Alright. I can do that. I'll leave you two to your little tryst."

Christina exits the room, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Tobias and I look at each other, at a loss for words. Then suddenly he starts to laugh.

I laugh too, so hard that I have to lean against Tobias for support.

When we finally calm down, he says to me, " I knew she was a bit, well, Candor, but I certainly wasn't expecting that."

"Me neither. I'm just glad I read that note so many times that she wasn't able to make out your real name."

He pulls me closer,and I rest my head against his chest. "Yeah, me too. You really read the note that many times?"

I blush. "I guess I sort of saw it as a promise. A piece of us."

We kiss again, and it feels familiar.

I now know exactly where I fit in the puzzle that used to be my life.

I am complete.

* * *

* a few days later *

I wake up to Christina hitting me in the face with a pillow.

"Get it in gear, girl. Initiation day is today, and unless you want me to say something about-"

"Okay, I'm up. I'm up!" I yell, because she's been dangling that threat over my head for the past few days and I have no doubt that she'd do it.

"Are you sure?" she says, because I'm still lying on the bed.

"I'm perfectly sure." To reinforce this, I get up, grab some clothes, and head for the showers.

* * *

When I get back, Christina isn't in the dorms, but Peter and Al are.

And they're looking at me like I'm lunch.

I exit as quickly as possible. I don't need them trying to kill me again.

Once I'm out the door, I head for Tobias' apartment. He answers on the first knock.

"You ready?"

I shake my head. "I'm nervous. And I don't want the leaders seeing my fears."

He holds me tightly, tracing a finger down my spine. I shiver.

"You'll do fine. You're probably the fastest at the simulations, and you're smart. It'll be alright."

We stay like that for a long time.

**Sorry if that was too much fluff but I promise it will get better soon.**


	6. Initiation

**here is the initiation scene. Instead of doing the fear of intimacy thing, though, she has a fear of losing Tobias...**

* * *

"Ready?" Tobias asks me, right before he injects me with the serum.

I nod. "Ready."

I pretend that the serum is liquid adrenaline, coursing through my veins, making me strong.

"Be brave, Tris," Tobias says softly.

His dark blue eyes are the last thing I see.

* * *

The The first few fears go by fairly quickly. It's only when I get to my sixth fear that I start having trouble.

I have never faced this fear before.

I stand alone in a pine forest. It is twilight. The wind whips through the trees, making an eerie whistling noise. I shiver.

Something rustles behind me. I turn around and stifle a scream. Tobias lies on the ground, bleeding from multiple stab wounds.

"Oh, God, Tobias.."

I run to him, trying in vain to stop the flow of hot blood rushing past my fingers...

Simulation. This is a simulation. Tobias is not dying.

Tobias grabs my hand, sticky and red with his blood.

"Tris..." He says weakly.

"Tobias." I kiss him, hard, my eyes brimming with tears.

"Always remember that I love you."

I turn around and pretend that this isn't happening as he quietly slips away from me.

* * *

"Congratulations. You have successfully finished your final test."

I smile as Eric says the words. I am Dauntless.

But the moment is bittersweet. I will never go back to the Abnegation. I walk out of the fear landscape room in silence.

I find Tobias in the Pit, staring down at the Chasm.

"Hey," he says, as I walk up to him and grab his hand.

"I heard a rumor that you only had seven fears to face. Practically unheard of."

I grin. "Seven fears isn't as good as four, but it will suffice."

We walk back to his apartment and sit on his bed. I look towards the mirror and realize that there's something new on his wall.

It's an amazing sketch of me standing at the Pit railing.

"Did _you_ draw that?" I ask him, incredulous.

He nods. "You like it?"

"It's beautiful."

Forget working in the control room or training initiates. He should have been a tattoo artist.

* * *

"...the rankings will appear on the screen behind me."

As soon as the words leave Eric's mouth, the names appear on the screen.

1. Tris

2. Uriah

3. Lynn

4. Marlene

5. Peter

Damn. He stays.

6. Will

7. Christina

8. Robyn

9. Alex

10. Claire

11. Molly

12. Al

So Al is gone. Al, who fell for me and then nearly killed me. Al, who I let Tobias throw knives at my head for.

Even though he was my friend, I'm glad he's gone.

I don't need to be afraid of him anymore


	7. Calling

**Tris POV**

I wake with a lingering sense of danger and fear.

I know that I'm perfectly safe, but irrational fears are never calmed by rational solutions. I can't even recall most of my nightmare. All I have is an image of dark, haunted places where I traveled alone.

_Tris. You're safe now,_ I tell myself. _You're officially a __Dauntless, and you can_ _become a __leader if you want to._

Interesting possibility.

* * *

"You will pick your jobs in order of your ranking. Once I call your name, you will tell me what job you want. You have ten minutes to look over the job listings that I gave you, which starts...now."

After Max makes his little speech, I scan the job list but nothing else really appeals to me.

"Nurse, weapons designer, fence guard... c'mon, isn't there anything _interesting_ on the list?" Christina moans.

I laugh. "Second page."

"Oh, hey, tattoo artist. That sounds promising. Thanks, Tris."

"You're welcome."

I sit with my back to the wall, leaning into its reassuring bulk.

Today I begin my new life.

* * *

"Tris."

Here we go. I het up and carefully make my way over to Max.

"Dauntless leader in training," I say loudly, smiling evilly at the look on Peter's face.

I'm guessing he wanted the job for himself. Well, too bad.

"Uriah."

"I wanna train initiates!" he yells without bothering to get up from the corner he's sitting in, making me laugh.

Lynn, surprisingly, becomes a nurse, and Marlene wants to be a weapons designer.

Peter is stuck as a fence guard.

I don't get to hear the rest of the choices, though, because Max receives a message telling me to report to Erudite headquarters.

Why would I be needed in Erudite?

When I reach the Pit, I notice that Tobias is headed in the same direction that I am.

"Hey, Four!" I yell, sprinting to catch up with him.

"Hey, Tris."

I am out of breath by the time I reach him.

"Why the rush?"

"They told me I had to report to Erudite headquarters," I explain.

"Huh. So do I. Wonder what they want us for," he says.

"I don't know." I feel a shiver of fear. What if they've found out about my Divergence?

* * *

"Ready, Tris?" Tobias asks.

I nod. "Ready."

And together, we push open the door to the Erudite headquarters.

The room is huge and silent, bookshelves lining the walls and computers in the middle.

As we step through the door, a young woman who seems vaguely familiar looks up.

"Are you Beatrice Prior and Tobias Eaton?"

We nod.

"You're to report to Jeanine's office. It's on the fourth floor. Caleb can show you the way."

Caleb?

As soon as I think of him, he materializes out of the shadows.

"Hello, Tris," he says quietly. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. It has." I look at the ground.

Tobias grips my hand tighter.

"Why are we needed here?" I ask defiantly.

"You are both here for a very important purpose," he says, smiling at us.

Somehow my brother's smile looks menacing.

But then again, almost everything is dangerous here.

Especially Divergence.


	8. Running

_-I can't sit oh I can't talk, I gotta leave this town and run to you. __Curse these nights that speak your name, I gotta leave this town and come to you._

_- **Curse by Imagine Dragons**_

* * *

"Here you are," Caleb says, stopping in front of a simple wooden door, rather like the ones at our old Upper Levels school.

He glances down and sees my hand in Tobias'. He presses his lips into a thin, hard line.

My eyes follow him all the way to the elevator.

then the door opens and Jeanine Matthews stares hungrily at us.

"Enter," she says in a cold voice.

We do.

Jeanine sits down at an ornate desk in the back of the room.

"I assume you are Mr. Eaton and Ms. Prior?"

"I prefer the name Four," says Tobias smoothly.

"I'll take note of that, _Four,"_ replies Jeanine.

Tobias grips my hand even tighter, and he tenses. I had almost forgotten about this part of him: the part that would rather explode than lay down and die.

"Sit," she says.

"I'd rather not," I reply.

"Suit yourself."

"Why are we here?" I ask. I don't do well with ambiguous threats. I'd rather just hear whatever she has to say straight out.

"It has come to my attention that you both posess a quality known as Divergence."

"I don't know what you're talking about. What's Divergence?" I say nervously, hoping she can't see through my lies.

"Don't play dumb. You are both here for a very important purpose."

_You are both here for a very important purpose_. Caleb's exact words to me.

"And what might that purpose be?" asks Tobias, annoyed.

"I need a Divergent proof serum before I continue with some of my other... plans. I have decided to test it out on you two."

What?

"This... this is wrong. We aren't your lab rats. We have a home. We have ._lives._ I would rather die."

And so would I.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter," Jeanine says lightly.

"C'mon, Four. Let's go." I grab his hand and we walk out of the room, running the second we're outside Jeanine's door.

We take the stairs because the elevator is too slow, and the Erudite on the first floor look up, startled, when we burst in.

I am out of breath by the time we reach the tracks and jump onto the train.

"Who do you think authorized that?" asks Tobias.

"Eric, I bet," I say, staring out the window."You know, if you had become a leader instead of Eric, all this... wrongness could have been prevented."

Tobias sits with his head in his hands."Yeah. But it's too late now."

I shake my head. "No, Tobias. It's never too late to start over."

**Sorry it was so short. The next one will be longer. I promise.**


	9. Falling

**Tobias**

I sit down in the chair in front of Max, looking him right in the eye.

"So. Is there a reason you requested to see me, _Four?"_

"There is, actually." I can't contain the note of defiance in my voice. Max has no idea what's coming.

"And that reason would be?"

I casually rest my feet on the coffee table and lean back in my chair, knitting my fingers together behind my head.

"I accept your offer. I want to be a Dauntless leader."

* * *

**Tris**

"So how did he react?"

The corners of Tobias's mouth tilt upward. "He looked like I had just given him a heart attack."

I can't contain the laugh that bubbles from deep inside of me. "Seriously?"

He nods. "Seriously."

I sit forward and look down at my feet. "I can't believe Caleb betrayed us to Jeanine. And that she wanted to use us as her lab rats."

"I know. It's horrible. Inhumane. " there's no concealing the pain in his voice.

"I wish there was some way to... to bring the factions back to what they once were. All of them except for maybe Abnegation have been corrupted beyond recognition."I rest my head on his shoulder as I speak the words.

"Maybe you're right. But maybe there's nothing we can do. It's too early to tell."

I think back to our little session with Jeanine. "Jeanine seemed nervous. A bit desperate. Almost like she's running out of time."

And that's when we hear the scream.

We both leap to our feet and look at each other, panicked.

"Who was that?" I ask.

"Someone in trouble. Let's go."

* * *

**Anonymous POV**

I scream in pain.

Which is pointless, because there's a singsong voice in my head that repeats, they can't hear you they can't see you over and over again.

There is blood, so much blood from the wound, and I'm not sure who pushed me but I'm holding on to the Pit railing dangling over the Chasm.

I am going to slip. I'm sure of it.

I will fall crashing down to meet my death.

Please, help.

Someone. Anyone.

I'm too young to die.

**Sorry this is the first chapter in like forever but I was working on other stuff and I had Hunger Games camp and writers block and...yeah.**

**Please forgive me.**


	10. Slipping

**Tobias**

I grab her hand and we run, fast and faster, because maybe we're too late already and will have to dispose of a body tonight.

We hear the scream again, louder this time, and closer.

I don't think. I run.

* * *

**Tris**

He takes my hand, and even though I'm scared he seems to give me his strength.

When I see her, my breath leaves me in a rush, as of I were punched. The next thing I know, I'm lying on the ground, my hands clenched into fists as the Pit spins in a dizzying circle.

_Christina._

She needs me. I cannot be weak.

I pull myself up off the ground and run to the girl dangling by one hand from the Pit railing.

"Reach," I say in a voice that doesn't sound like mine. "I've got you."

She lifts her free hand, and her fingers grasp mine, just barely enough. I pull.

Tobias runs forward and grabs her under her arms, lifting her over the railing and onto the Pit floor.

She gasps for breath. She's covered in blood and is soaking wet. She looks like she's been through hell and back.

"Who was it?" I demand. "Who did this to you?"

Tobias puts a hand on my shoulder. "Tris, she shouldn't-"

"It was Eric," Christina says hoarsely. "He...took me."

Tobias is silent by my side. I grasp his hand.

There are not enough fights to win, not enough guns to shoot.

This promises revenge.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Max asks us wearily.

"Positive," Tobias replies. I cannot speak right now.

At first Max didn't believe us. After all, Eric is -was - a Dauntless leader, a respected member of the community. It is hard for Max to believe that he would hurt Christina in that way and then leave her for dead.

But the blood on my hands, and the fact that we had to call an ambulance for her, and the fact that we woke him up in the middle of the night, all point to one thing.

I want to be the one who fires the bullet into Eric's head. In fact, I'm looking forward to it.


	11. Fading

**Tris**

On Eric's execution day, the Dauntless members (only those who have completed initiation are allowed to attend) gather in a large room in the Pire.

For once, everyone is silent as Max begins to speak. Tobias, who is standing behind him with the other leaders, gives me a small smile. I squeeze Christina's hand tightly.

"You, Eric Silas, have been accused of abusing, severely injuring, and almost killing Christina Lawrence, a member of the Dauntless community. Your punishment is death, to be carried out by firing squad."

Eric's eyes flick over to me and Christina, and he gives us a look that is positively venomous.

Christina shrinks back, and I wrap an arm around her reassuringly.

Just yesterday, she found out that she was pregnant with Eric's child. She took the news well, and Will promised to look after her and the baby, but I know that she's scared. Scared of Eric, scared of every man besides Will, scared of herself even.

I hurt for my best friend, who has suffered so much and received so little in return.

Eric clears his throat and his voice, loud and clear, rings through the room. "I want her to do it," he says, pointing a greasy finger at Christina.

"We don't take requests from criminals," Tobias says coldly.

"I'll do it," she says, her voice shaking. "I will. It's what you deserve, you lying, dirty piece of shit."

The crowd parts for her as she marches over to the guns lying on a small table, loads a single bullet into one, and shoots it at Eric's head.

And it's that quick, the death of the former Dauntless leader.

Afterwards, in the Pit, Christina and I get some chocolate cake and head to her apartment.

"So, um..." I clear my throat. "Do you want to go shopping for baby stuff, or something?"

Her face breaks into a smile, almost the first time I've seen it since the attack.

"Sure," she says. "I need something else to think about, other than... you know."

I understand. After all that's happened, she needs something to love. That's why she kept the baby.

"Which are you hoping for? A boy or a girl?"

"A little girl, of course. I want a shopping buddy."

"I thought I was your shopping buddy."

She laughs. "You are. But I want to be able to dress her up and do her hair and stuff."

Just then, there is a knock on the door. We open it to find Tori, leaning against the doorframe.

"All Dauntless members are supposed to gather in the Pit. The Abnegation have released some important information to the entire city."

I glance at Christina. She shrugs, and we both walk out the door and down the stone path.


End file.
